The Bad One
by klovec
Summary: The good one gives her love but her memory burns for the bad one she can't forget.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up thinking about this 2-possibly 3-shot.

* * *

**2114  
Washington DC**

She sat sideways on the seat in front of the big bay window looking over the capitol and most of DC. Her bare legs stretched in front of her but bent at the knees. Her head leaned gainst the glass. She hummed as the sun clung to her skin. One arm rose above her head and she stopped to purr in pure enjoyment.

Caroline milked every single drop of these moments. It was rare when she let herself indulge. Her mind free flowed. She lost herself in the blue and the red. The blue that froze her in a place and time where she had never gone back to, that lingered in her mind and thoughts. The red unleashed her; it had freed her, giving her true warmth. It was like the sun that both threatened to warm her with her ring on and burn her without it.

She closed her eyes as goose bumps grew on her skin and closed her eyes to embrace the feeling. Those ruby red lips at her ankle kissing a trail up her leg leaving wet stepping stones like on their path. At the knee they place an open mouth stamp and her whole body shakes. A tongue slips out between them to trailblazing up the sensitive skin of her thighs on its way to the land where it was all promised for her. When it reaches she moans against the shattering her release brings her. It's almost painful and devastating. She feels him lift from her core mostly because she's been expecting it. His blue-green eyes full of love and yearning on hers. This is the moment she craves the most; he revels in her scent and breathes her whole name.

Every letter

Every vowel

Every syllable

"Care"

She frowns before her eyes fly open. Stefan is looming over her. A smile playing at his lips.

"I guess I should have rushed home." His eyes traveling from hers to the hand between her thighs.

Her skin turns crimson, removes her hand and averts her eyes.

"Sorry, spur of the moment." She lied.

"I'm here for round two." He offers seductively.

"I need to get ready. Dinner with the president is not an everyday thing. I have to get ready and do my hair. Too much. You're not getting on the way of that, mister!" She says extra cheerfully.

Stefan frowns. "You're not keeping the curls? You spent so much time getting them "exactly right". You should keep them. I love them and you never wear them down anymore." He reached out to grab one.

She intercepted his hand and squeezed it. "It's not appropriate for such an event. Going to get ready." She leaned and kissed him briefly before quickly rushing to the bathroom.  
She knows he won't follow her. They had been best friends before becoming a couple. They knew when to give each other space. What she loved about him the most is how respectful he was of her, her boundaries, her wishes.

It was also what made her tears fall as soon as the door closed. It always did. She turned on the shower at full blast and practically ripped the baby-t and panties she was wearing. She stepped into the shower stall and stared at the spraying water, hesitantly, almost fearful of confronting it. But guilt, as it always did, flooded her and she jumped and she stepped under it while her fingers almost violently attacked and killed the spiral waves on her tresses. Her lips pressed together to prevent her from making sound.

She had gotten careless. She had not heard Stefan come back and her embarrassment had more to do with the image she was conjuring than with being caught pleasuring herself, which she had not even realized she was doing.

No, be honest Caroline.

She woke up with the need to curl her hair which she had only had done once before in the past 100 years. She dried it immediately after showering never letting it go to it's natural state. She banned the curls like she banned her inner voice, her inner desires. This morning her filters had vanished along with somnolence and she was grateful when Stefan announced he had to go out as she walked out of the bathroom when she was done with her hair. He had smiled and commented on how beautiful it looked. Normally that would have been a dagger in her heart but she couldn't wait to be away from him. She wanted time alone with herself, with her curls.

She stood in front of the mirror for an hour running her hands through it. She let the tresses slip through her fingers. She pressed her fingers on her scalp until she moaned with pleasure from it.

Now she sobbed into her hands because in the living room was a great guy, one that she loved purely and cherished as if he were a limb of her body.

But in her mind was the bad one.

The one she couldn't seem to forget.

* * *

**2065  
Mystic Falls, Virginia**

Her mother was slipping away. Caroline heard the decreasing heartbeat and watched the laboring chest, while fighting herself. All she wanted was to reach for her and force her bleeding wrist into Liz' mouth. A small noise of impotence escaped her lips. As if intuiting her daughter's thoughts and frustration, Liz smiled.

"What?" Caroline whispered trying not to cry.

"My little control freak. I'm so sorry." Her mother answered.

"Why?"

"Because I'm doing the worst thing that anyone can do to you. I'm rendering you helpless." Her mother smiled wistfully.

"Mom…"

Her words were interrupted by Stefan who came in with some water for her medicine.

"Thank you." The dying woman whispered. Then she reached for his hand. "I'm glad you're here. I love you. I want you to promise me that you'll never be away from her for too long. You two have to watch out for each other."

He kissed her head giving her the promise she sought. Then he excused himself and left to give them privacy.

* * *

"I love him so much. I was so happy the day you announced you were together."

Her voice startled Caroline. She had been sitting there staring at her mom, memorizing every detail to keep in her heart and mind for eternity.

"Stefan's a good guy. He's perfect for you…"

Caroline nodded and opened her mouth to agree but her mother stopped her with her hand on top of hers.

"But the heart wants what it wants, Caroline. It doesn't care how suitable someone is on paper or how pure their heart is. While it may beat for that person, it will never pound. It will never flutter. It will never falter."

Caroline looked away but Liz tugged at her hand to bring her eyes back to her.

"He's a small town boy. He would be happy to settle in one spot forever, make a home anywhere. You're not like that, my love. You're like a hummingbird, jumping from flower to flower, happily soaring in the air. You have a hunger Caroline that he'll never know how to fill. You're not meant for the ground."

Caroline's eyes burnt and the lump on her throat was so massive she could barely breathe.

Liz was drifting off to sleep again but before she whispered.

"You're the absolute love of my life, Caroline. Promise me one day, you'll embrace yourself as you are. You'll let yourself soar." 

* * *

Liz died the next day and was buried two days later. She had left a package for her daughter to open after she died.

In it Caroline found a small box with her grandmother's diamond earrings. Her mom's service weapon and hat and other family items she would treasure and store safely.  
On the bottom there was a big scrapbook. An envelope fell into her lap but Caroline was curious about the scrapbook and wanted to see that first.

When she opened it, her mother's cop face stared at her. It was the no nonsense, business face that all perps saw before being arrested. It was a beautiful sketch that made he gasp because she recognized even the stroke of his brush. Her heart began to pound. On the bottom, in Liz' hand writing, was penned the date: April 2015. As she passed the pages, she found more sketches. The first four were dated every 10 years. The last one was dated from a month ago. Liz sat outside in the backyard. She was in the rocking chair looking over her petunias with a smile.

Caroline abruptly closed the book as her breath began gushing in and out of her lungs. She put it back in the box with everything else but the earrings. She closed it.

When she got up from the chair, the envelope fell from her lap. She picked it up. It was addressed to her. She opened it and pulled out a piece of paper with two sentences.

**_I too have communed with the devil. I understand now._**

Caroline's heart faltered. 

* * *

**Back to present day**

As she applied her make-up, she thought of her last days with her mom. She kept everything stored for a long time. She had been angry at Liz for a while. Liz had left her and Caroline yearned to hold her mother in her arms. She also blamed the empty feeling on her words. She had been living a content life until those days. She was able to mostly ignore her thoughts of Klaus and lock away his memories most of the time.

Now for 50 years she had been agonizing in silence. She didn't want to hurt Stefan. To her endless shame looking forward to the times they hung out with Damon and Elena and his attention would be diverted from her.

She loved him dearly. She did. He loved her. She knew it. He had been her constant. He is what kept her leveled and honest.

And she held on to that for dear life.

Letting what she's used to be stronger than her desire.

* * *

**_Probably the douchiest song in the world "El Malo" by Aventura has inspired this. The song is dedicated from a man to his ex. He is singing about her being with this good guy who loves and is there for her but she can't forget the bad one that is lodged in her heart. The bad is the singer. It's douchy as hell in my opinion._**

**_Then it gets all sad and angsty._**

**_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it._**


	2. Chapter 2 - With a virtue

_**Hello,**_

_**Here's part two to the one shot that ended up being two shots but will now be three. It's longer than I expected. This is why I'm posting it here. It was supposed to be a Tumblr drabble but now it's too long to post.**_

_**Special thanks to Marisol40 and EternityofKlaroline for their beta help for this piece.**_

_**The song references are "El Malo (the bad one)" by Aventura which is the main point of inspiration for this drabble. This is the song reference for the Klaroline scenes.**_

_**For the Stefan/Caroline scenes. The song referenced is Neither one of Us by Gladys Knight. Thanks to Marisol40 for putting me on to it. **_

_**Jay**_

* * *

**_When it comes to saying good bye __  
That's a simple word that I just cannot say  
There can be no way, there can be no way  
This can have a happy ending (happy ending)  
So we just go on (we go on) hurting and pretending  
And convincing ourselves…._**

They sat at the top of step of the Lincoln monument passing a bottle of Bourbon. They ended there after a long walk from the White House. The nation's capital spread out in front of them. The night light gave the city an air of formality.

They had walked in silence, reeling from the night's events. It had been a royal disaster.

For the past years they had been running a foundation to preserve the natural areas of the world. The dinner was a celebration of their efforts as well as a fundraiser with the nation's top political leaders. Everything was going well until the beaming president made a surprising announcement.

_A 2 million dollar donation had been made in Elizabeth Forbes' name by an anonymous benefactor. _

The room had erupted in applause. Caroline had repressed the urge to cringe. Instead she smiled and said all the right things. Stefan had been stunned at first but then she saw the exact moment when it dawned on him. The donation could have only come from one place. They both knew who the anonymous benefactor was. Caroline told him about the sketches and her mother's posthumous confession of the time she spent with Klaus. She didn't feel right keeping that from him. They were best friends before anything else. It was easy for him to connect the dots.

Now half way through the bottle, she wondered if she shouldn't have kept it all to herself. She was annoyed, bitter, and thirsty.

She looked towards the water to find the full moon staring back at her. She quickly averted her eyes from it and turned to look at his profile. Serious Stefan face was in full effect. She opened her mouth, and then closed it.

A few minutes later he broke the silence.

"I'm sorry Care." He said softly. "I've been a coward."

She laughed in confusion.

"What are you talking about? You've never known a day of cowardice in your life." She frowned.

"That, right there, is the reason why I've been such a coward. Your loyalty, love, means the world to me. I'm afraid of losing it, living without." he looked at her with a sad smile.

She smiled on her own. "You won't ever lose me." Her hand reached to touch his face. "Where is this coming from?"

But she knew.

"The truth is, Care, I've been waiting for the day his control snaps and he comes to kill me."

* * *

**Chicago, Illinois**

**2110**

Caroline had enough. For the past 7 blocks someone had been following her. She turned to confront whoever it was only to find the person gone. She frowned. "What the hell?"

Then she knew without the shadow of a doubt that when she turned, the person would be behind her. So she braced herself for the attack and swung first. She quickly found herself pinned against a fence before she fully turned.

"Relax Caroline." A woman's voice said. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."

Caroline froze when she heard her name. She didn't relax but she stopped struggling. She turned around to see someone she had never seen before. The two women stared at each other for a while.

Then it hit Caroline that though she had never seen her before, she knew exactly who this woman was.

"Padma" Caroline whispered.

She was very thin and as tall as Caroline. Her dirty blonde hair hung in tight curls to her shoulder. It was her facial features that gave her away. Her eyes were blue-green and her lips were red relaxed into a natural pucker. Her presence was commanding, a painful reminder of whose child she was.

Neither woman saying anything until the younger one decided to break the silence.

"I've imagined this moment so many times."

"Why?" Caroline asked.

"I wanted to see the legend in the flesh." She shrugged.

Caroline was taken aback but answered with a shrug of her own shoulders. "And?"

"Again, I'm here for answers. You do understand I can easily kill you, right?"

"We would have to see about that." Caroline told her nonchalantly.

A cold smile played on Padma's. "Make no mistake. I am my father's daughter."

"You mean you will throw a tantrum when you don't get your way and take it out on the people around you?" Caroline retorted rendering Padma speechless. "Tell me then, if you kill me, how will you get your answers. Only two people can tell you about your father and I… and I'm guessing part of the reason you are here is because he won't tell you." She raised an eyebrow at the end.

Padma opened her mouth then closed it. "Do you talk to him like that?"

She sounded shocked; Caroline chuckled.

"My mother wouldn't have dared talk to him like that. He barely talked to her." The other woman seemed confused.

"Well, your mother is a…" Caroline caught herself. "We have history."

"Had. She's dead as I'm sure you know."

Caroline immediately softened. "I'm sorry."

"You hated her." Padma retorted. "Apparently everyone did."

"I am sorry that you had to lose your mother. I lost mine many years ago and it still hurts." Caroline told her.

The younger woman shrugged a little too detachedly. "From what I hear your mother was a woman of honor and everyone respected her. She even kept her dignity after your father's deception. She didn't sleep with your uncle or was known to her pack as a backstabbing opportunist." A faint smirk ghosted at the corner of her mouth, not reaching her eyes. "Did you know that my father named me Padma because it means lotus?"

Caroline shook her head. Padma continued.

"The lotus flower is born and grows in the mud and yet is never tainted by it. This was my father's reasoning. That's how little he thought of her." Her eyes were dry and she seemed to be devoid of emotion but Caroline wasn't fooled. She knew the original set those eyes came from, all too well, with the same bottomless emotion.

"Pad…" She started but was stopped.

"I didn't come here for your pity. I don't want it or need it. I came to find out why your name was forbidden in our home. I need to know why the one time Hayley brought your name, my father almost leaped on her. I need to know why he hasn't killed you, your boyfriend or both."

* * *

**Mystic Falls, Virginia**

**2065**

She stayed for three days after her mother's death. The two days after they buried Liz, she spent alone in her childhood home. She asked Stefan for space. She wanted to pack away all the valuable things to put in a storage place. The rest she would donate.

She kept herself busy during the day.

At night, Caroline slept in her mother's bed, surrounded by her scent.

She closed her eyes and like she was a child, pretended. It was easy when she could still smell her. The truth eventually penetrated her mind and she wailed against a pillow like a wounded animal. Her mind refused to accept her new truth while her body acclimated to it. Her mother wasn't there to hold her, anger her, and fight with her. She would never again stroke her hair. She would never feel her mother's hands again. She would never be annoyed again at the tight line Liz could form with her lips when she disapproved of something. She hated it as a teenager but oh how she wished she could see it again now!

She didn't realize she was screaming out until it bounced echoing off the four walls of the room. It was so loud it should have drowned the sound of his entrance.

It didn't.

Even if she hadn't heard it, she would have known. She felt him. He had been around all day. She felt his eyes in the cemetery. It was something that traveled through her veins, a reaction in her skin. She knew he stayed around. She thought he would only stay in the shadows. He would never make himself physically known, but…

He did.

He had come to her when the pain was too great, too much. He shrugged his jacket. The only noise in the room was the sound of the fabric crumpling into a heap. He climbed in the bed beside her. She did not move, did not acknowledge him.

She didn't have to.

He didn't want her to.

His arms came around her from behind. He lifted her torso to sneak his arm under and around her. Her cheek rested on his right bicep, his hand stroke circles on her arm. His left hand pressed her to him. His breath on her hair. His whisper was barely inaudible.

_Let go_

She didn't move and didn't say anything. He swallowed thickly and spoke again.

_It's dark_

She turned then. It was almost violent the way in which she flipped her body around to face him. The curtains were drawn and the room was pitch-black. All she could make out were the light orbs of his eyes.

As her face crumpled she understood.

_I want my mom not to be gone_

She sobbed as she lowered her head back to the bicep nestling her face at the base of his neck. His arms circled around her; the tighter he hugged her, the more she cried.

After a while, exhaustion took over and she slept.

**Paris, France**

**2065**

**_Though I may not be a prince charming_**

**_I am your love_**

**_I'm your dilemma_**

**_And like in soaps and fairy tales_**

**_I'm the bad one… with A virtue_**

She left the Parisian store pleased. The shop keeper was preening over her purchases. She had him make special lotions for her from the sample fragrances she had chosen. She wasn't disappointed. Stefan would love them. For a minute she got a reprieve from all things…time to herself.

He had convinced her to come to Paris despite all her reservations. She never told him, not in all their years together as friends or subsequently as a couple, of the three promised places. Rome. Paris. Tokyo.

Stefan was out meeting an old friend of him and Lexie's and she had been doing shopping. She stopped and picked up a coffee and continued until she was close to the place she had always dreamed of, no matter how clichéd anyone would think, the Eiffel Tower.

She should have seen it with Stefan for the first time but she wanted to go alone. She started to make excuses of why she was here without him but she promptly stopped herself. She had worked out her reasons already. It felt like it was an emotional compromise; without betraying neither her boyfriend nor the shadow that loomed large in her subconscious.

The shadow that held her thoughts constantly since the minute her feet touched French ground; that materialized at that precise moment as if she had conjured him.

She saw him across the way. There had to be a mile between them. She should have been stunned, shocked to see him.

She was not even surprised.

It had been five months since her mother's death.

Five months since she had fallen asleep crying in his arms.

Five months since she had woken up with wet cheeks, heart aching, and his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Five months since they had spent the day in silence, not moving.

She had shut out the whole world except the rhythm of his running blood and the beating of his long-dead heart in her ear.

The silence spell, or curse, had been broken at the end of the second day when her cell phone began vibrating. She rose from his neck and reached for the night stand and took the phone. She clicked the screen and watched it light up. It was a message from Stefan letting her know he would be coming for her the next morning. She placed the phone back on the nightstand and stared at the floor for a while.

He resisted the urge to sigh in sadness as he sat up. He didn't know what he should say and began to rise. Suddenly, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her in surprise and for the first time they looked in each other's eyes while the light of day seeped in, partially illuminating the room.

She rocked a bit forward and tried to swallow the lump and she opened her mouth to speak

_Until_…

Her voice broke and she grabbed his arm tighter, begging him to understand.

He did.

He nodded.

He pulled the covers back and laid down on the bed while reaching for her. They went back to the position they had been in. They stayed all day in silence, but for 8 more words.

_You broke your promise…_

_I know._

_I'm glad..._

Now they were thousands of miles away from her childhood home and he looks as comfortable here as he did there. She drank the sight of him slowly. This is the first she had seen or heard from him since then. He didn't come close. He didn't need to. She saw his lips move. The rest of the world didn't hear his whispered words, but it was like he was shouting in her ear.

_Souvenez vous l'avez vu avec moi (Remember, you saw it first with me)_

His face slowly bloomed from a soft smile into a grin that transformed into the full blown smirk she hated so much. That smirk snuck into her thoughts at the most inopportune of times.

She replied back in English, three words.

_Go to hell_

His laughter rang out.

_Je suis déjà là, mon amour (I'm already there, my love)_

She walked away.

_Good_

* * *

**Present**

**_Lord knows it's only me only knows it's only me __  
That I'm deceiving_**

Stefan's confession that he had been waiting for Klaus to come and kill him had rendered Caroline speechless. She opened her mouth, wanting to deny what he was saying; wanting to erase the sadness in his eyes.

Stefan lifted a finger to her lips.

"Don't say anything. Just listen. One of my biggest regrets in life is that day I told you that nothing will ever happen between us. I think you compartmentalized me then—friend zoned me— and when you turned, I became your brother/sober coach. Then things developed and later came my other regret. Pursuing a romantic relationship with you knowing full well..."

Caroline knew how this one went.

"That you were not over Elena."

He had turned to look at the city for a moment. Her comment made him snap his gaze back at her. He shook his head and reach to grab her hand.

"No, that's not it. Part of me wishes it was. I love you Caroline. I do. I can be with you forever…But I can't let myself be selfish. Not anymore. Not with you."

She tensed at his words and almost pulled her hand, but he held her tighter.

"You're not here, not fully. We've been happy but I can't shake the part of you I don't have."

* * *

**New York City, New York**

**2082**

**_He's so sincere_**

**_A contrast to all my short comings_**

**_Yet I continue to be the bad one_**

**_You can't to stop yearning for_**

She turned the corner of 57th and Madison with a small smile on her face. She got the new LV clutch. It was a guilty pleasure, an expensive one, but she already did more charity than any other vampire she knew, except for Stefan. She deserved the little treat.

She walked up Madison until she hit the park. There were many things Caroline had experienced since leaving Mystic Falls for good. The fall in Central Park had to be one of her favorites, ever. She walked briskly like the natives did. Her stilettos boots making the sexy contact with the grown and allowing her hips to sway. She attracted the attention of men who did double takes watching the blonde strut.

She reached the park and allowed herself to inhale. The air in New York was like none other. She walked towards the huge stone wall and when she stood in front of it, she smiled. It was a full smile, reaching her eyes, spreading the happiness she felt all over her face. She felt good and warm for a moment. It was beautiful, perfect.

A gush of wind swept through and as if they were synchronized, the leaves began to dive from the massive trees, gliding through the air in harmony and finally descending to the floor. For each that fell, hundreds followed. She watched this in awe and her throat constricted a bit at the sheer beauty she was witnessing.

A leaf landed on her hair and she closed her eyes before she turned. She came around and opened her eyes.

_There he was. _

He stood in the middle of the walkway. The leaves that fell behind him gave him an aura greater than life. Or maybe it was him that made the scenery seem that way.

The sight of him reminded her of her time in the Argentinian Winery. She sat to enjoy the sunset sipping a bottle of Malbec that was bold, red, and intoxicating. She closed her eyes and savored it until the bouquet exploded under her tongue and the tingling sensation spread through her body. When she opened her eyes again, dusk had fallen.

This moment was exactly like that. She drank the vision before her eyes while her heart opened itself to hold the memory of his eyes, his lips, and his face.

She wanted to say something, but she didn't trust her tongue. Not yet. She just slowly blinked while his eyes danced upon her.

"I've missed you." His first words cut through her like the sharpest blade. It seared through her skin and she almost doubles up in pain as her heart shatters like a mirror that's been dropped.

A noise escapes her lips. It's like a whimper and she lowers her eyes. When they come back up, he's a breath away.

"How…why…Hello Klaus." She manages to croak out, fighting the screaming within her that she feels the same.

For a second she sees the same emotions that just passed through her —the ones she is reeling from ─ take over him. She sees the impact in his eyes; his lips parted slightly and she can physically see the wind gush out through them.

She pins her hands to her thighs to prevent them from reaching to touch them. He notices the move; a muscle in his cheek twitches and just like that, the atmosphere changes; becomes permeated with something lead-like.

"He won't be coming around for a while." His voice dry, almost cruel. It was cold yet with hints of something else. If sour was something that could be heard, she could swear that's what his voice was.

At the same time, it was a taunt on his part; she wouldn't fall for it.

"You wouldn't hurt him. Not Stefan." She said confidently.

His lips curved. It was sad and…

"That's because you still don't get the full extent of who you are to me, Caroline." He said softly then paused. "There's nothing and no one that would stand between you and I that I wouldn't kill."

His eyes never left her; his words sent shivers up and down her spine. She knew he spoke the truth. Still, she felt like being petulant about it.

"What about Camille?"

"I would if she did." He replied nonplussed. Then he tilted his head and focused closer, if that was possible. "We both know that neither she, nor Stefan, is standing in our way."

"He's a great man and he loves me."

"It's not his feelings that need to be questioned." She flinched as if he had slapped her but he was brutal. In true Klaus fashion, he continued. "Actually, if we were truthful, no one's feelings need to be questioned. I think we all are pretty clear in what we feel."

"I love Stefan."

"Yes, you do. So do I." He stepped a bit closer. "That's the problem, isn't it sweetheart? We both love him and neither of us has the courage to put him out of his misery. So he gets to live a lie because of the cowardice of the people who love him."

She was surprised how much it hurt her to breathe through the pain.

"Neither you nor I, tell him how he keeps giving you love while you feel more and more empty inside because no matter what he does, he can't fill the void that's in you. The one that can only be filled by…"

"Shut up." She snaps.

"When you're in his arms, you can pretend but when he whispers in your ear, it's not the voice you want to hear. When his lips kiss you, you dream of another set. When his goodness surrounds you and he treats you with softness and reverence, you yearn for the bad indulgences I provide. How you know with me you'll never go to sleep slowly but in a heap of exhaustion because I can't keep my hands or my mouth off your skin."

She felt the heat spread through her and the hair at her nape stand up. She stepped back from him; she shook her head.

He stepped forward, her vulnerability bringing forth his malice.

"Do you want me to write it down, Caroline? Help my old friend with a manuscript of how to take you higher, raise the fever in your body, and make you wetter than…"

Her hand cracked across his face.

"Do you think that's all it takes for me? Is that all I am to you? Do you think you can throw some sexual references about my likes and what then? I fall Klaus?"

His hands shot to her arms and he yanked her to him.

"Have the courage to be true, if only, to yourself Caroline. You've already fallen. You fell the minute you saw me, truly saw me. Not the evil, but the man. You fell for me like I fell in love with you. You can't forget me though you try. You're with Stefan because he's the opposite of what I am. But I have news for you. He won't be able to erase me from your mind, your skin, your heart. You belonged to me way before you freely gave yourself in the woods. Our hearts had been melded for years before that. When you understood my pain, my need for love, family, acceptance better than the ones that have spent hundreds, thousands of years with me. When I saw beyond the good girl who liked to sacrifice herself. When I couldn't help myself and catered to your every whim, knowing full well you were playing me. When you fooled yourself thinking that the time you spent with me was only to distract me. Remember those times? You cared for me in spite of my evil villain status; even if you hated yourself for doing so."

She couldn't struggle. His words paralyzed her. Not only because he was right but because for the third time he prophesied something over her life. His words truer than anything she had experience.

She opened her mouth to say something but his next words iced the words in her throat.

"I would kiss you but I'm not going to make it easy for you this time. You'll come to me out of your own will and you won't be able to use what I make you feel physically as an excuse." A faint smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Plus, you don't need a reminder of what my mouth feels like. You've spent almost a century trying to erase it. It's there every day, every night."

Guilt had the color draining from her face.

He chuckled then. "Now you know what that feels like. I hope your agony is as deep as the one I feel but I doubt it. You'll never know what it's like to need you the way I do, to want to kill him and sometimes you because I can't stomach the thought of you with anyone else."

Anger filled her then.

"You're the one that had a child, Klaus. You're the one that was shacking up with Hayley and had your side girlfriend, and your side witch. Was I supposed to force myself into the little harem of women that make you feel good?"

He leaned forward until their noses were almost touching.

"You never have to force your way, Caroline. The minute you step into my life, they disappear. All of them were there because you weren't. It took three women to fill the void you left. And they only occupied a corner, the rest I had to fill with the delusion that they were enough. But you know that. I'm not the only one using delusion here."

The way his eyes bore into hers. It was too much. She shook her head.

He scoffed softly and started to turn away but on an impulse he brought his hands to both sides of her face. Her eyes widened.

"Every time you want to go high, you'll remember the one that can take you there." He rubbed his lips against hers. "Goodbye, Caroline."

Before she could blink, he was gone.

She sat on a park bench for hours. She stared at nothing. Feeling the pressure of his mouth against hers while his words weighed down her soul.

She walked home dragging that weight as the rain began and the sky had the courage the do what she couldn't allow herself to.

Cry

* * *

**Present**

He was right. She knew it. That's the part that cut the deepest. How do you hurt someone so good by admitting he has not been enough?

"I've been tormented by Liz's words all this time. They nag at me. She knew."

She nods. Two drops fall on top of his hand and he realizes she's crying.

He kisses her cheek.

"Don't cry. It's going to be ok."

She leans against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I do love you. I don't ever want to lose you. If only…"

He interrupted her

"If only he wasn't around." He said. She nodded. "But he is. He will always be."

"Where do we go from here?" she asked in a low voice.

"We take some time. I'll go drink my sorrows away. The ripper has been dormant for too long…"

"Stefan…" She chimed in lifting her head from his shoulder.

He half smiled. "I have to go lick my wounds a bit. Maybe find Tyler and form a club."

"Stefan!" She asked flustered. "How can you joke at this time?"

"Care, we're going to be ok." He lightly pushed her with his elbow.

"Are you sure?" She asked searching his face.

He nodded. "You will too. You were born to be queen. I've never seen someone so bossy."

She took his face in her hands. "I can't talk about this. Not now. Not with you."

They walked back to the townhouse they were staying in. The next morning each drove the opposite way.


	3. Chapter 3 - Soaring

_This is the last installment of this three part shot. This story became very special to me. It came out of nowhere one day and demanded to be written. Special thanks to:_

_And super huge thanks hug love to Anastasiadreams for her awesome beta skills. To my__ girl Marisol40 for her input and ideas, and my beautiful EternityofKlaroline for being the ultimate focus group._

_And the amazingly talented Nfinneman for the beautiful artwork. _

_And Thank you all for reading. _

_Jay_

* * *

_Playlist for this chapter:_

**Taste of me | Sabor a mi | Luis Miguel **

**The day you love me | El dia que me quieras | Luis Miguel**

**Wrapped in a memory | Shawn Smith**

**Love you for life | Jodeci**

* * *

_More than a thousand years will pass_

_Many more_

_I don't know if love is in my eternity_

_But there, like here_

_Your mouth will always carry the flavor,_

_Taste,_

_Me._

* * *

**Córdoba-Andalusia, Spain**

**Two years later**

The streets of Córdoba were alive. Candles burnt everywhere and the sound of the crying guitars colored the air. She sipped her wine and took a deep breath. The night air and the bouquet she just tasted made her skin tingle and her thoughts traveled to him; her heart quickened.

Caroline sensed she was being watched.

She remained still, forcing her eyes not to search. She was sure it was him and her body could barely contain the excitement she felt. She examined her glass of wine as she waited. She didn't have to wait long.

"Well, isn't this a surprise?"

Her eyes snapped up.

* * *

**Chicago **

He sat nursing a glass of whiskey. He had been at the bar for the past couple of days.

Literally.

He had compelled the staff to just work around him. He sipped on their best liquor and ignored the patrons. It had worked until the two girls came in. There was something about them. He had been trying to ignore the flirty eyes, or the catchy laughter. They were flipped sides of the same blond coin it seemed. One was modest, with straight shoulder length hair. She's the one that made eyes at him; sending subtle come hither looks. The other one with curly long hair was bolder, more blatant about her interest. She timely flicked her blond mane over her shoulder and stared at him with a wide smile. Her eyes spoke of soon to be shared secrets.

Lust and thirst filled him. He looked down at his drink trying to resist what he knew would be the end of them. He concentrated on the dark liquor trying to find the strength to fight what inevitably pulsated in his veins.

"Still on the wood critter diet, I see." A voice from behind him chimed in.

He didn't bother to look up. "Why are you here?"

Klaus shrugged and took the chair beside him.

"Shouldn't you be out stalking her? Begging for a chance? Nothing's standing in your way now…" Bitter. That's the only word that could describe Stefan's words.

Klaus laughed. It was mirthless. "Of course there's something in my way. The same thing, the only thing that ever stood in my way…" He stopped to motion for the bartender to bring him the same thing his friend was having.

Stefan could only grimace. The comment was harsh but Klaus was right. He had never been an obstacle. Just a place for Caroline to hide. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. His love for her burned like poison, filling him with anger, hate, thirst. His eyes drifted back to the girls. This time he smiled.

"A toast mate?" Klaus' voice interrupted the path his thoughts were taking.

Stefan turned to the hybrid exasperated. "Do we really have to do this? Is it not enough that you know why we… Do you have to rub it in?"

The joviality left Klaus. His face was serious. "Does it look like I'm a position to gloat to anyone? It's been two years since she left your side."

Stefan's voice was barely audible as he said "It's only a matter of time."

Klaus chuckled humorlessly. "It hasn't happened in 37,230 days." He downed his drink in one sip, "I'm not holding my breath for tomorrow either."

The other vampire snorted, "She's stubborn."

"Really? I had not noticed," Klaus countered dryly. He raised his glass. "To her?"

Stefan touched his glass against it and both men drank. Letting the alcohol numb their sadness.

"I don't hate you, you know?" Stefan said almost to himself, keeping his eyes were fixed on the bar. "I waited."

"She would've never forgiven me." Klaus joked then sobered. "I thought about it…remembered the time you were like a brother to me…that means something."

Stefan nodded. "I keep losing to my brothers", He added cynically.

"You had her for a hundred years." Klaus couldn't keep the jealousy off his voice.

"No, she was with me for a hundred years; she's going to love you forever…" He looked away from the Hybrid, a visible lump forming on his throat. He seemed as if it cost him to speak, as if it was too much. "I can't do this with you. Not yet. I need to be ok first. If not, I'll spend time comparing myself to you and wondering what I could've…No, I can't do that. I already did it for too long."

Klaus opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Someday, just not today." With that, Stefan was gone.

Klaus stayed at the bar, in pain for his friend. He hurt because he caused the suffering. Because Caroline was the one thing he couldn't give up for anyone. His eyes stung because he felt lower than dirt. In the midst of speaking of his pain, Stefan gave him the comfort he needed for a century. He was never truly out of her mind. He was in her as she was in him. While this wouldn't keep him warm, it soothed his soul while he waited for her.

He was a selfish asshole.

* * *

Indulgence of life.

It was the theme she adopted since she had walked out of the condo in DC. For the first time in her life she was alone and on her own. She had taken a couple of days and gone down to Richmond. It was as close as she could get to Mystic Falls without actually going there. She didn't want to ever go back. She went to the storage facility where she kept most of her mother's things. She allowed herself to take out Liz's scrapbooks and albums and look through her things.

She missed her mother but being among her valued items gave her the steel and courage Caroline needed to make her decision.

Caroline made a promise to Liz on her death bed. She would let herself fly one day. Through the years when she had thought back on that moment, she wondered if she had said it just to appease her mom as she left this world. As time passed she realized more and more she needed to do that.

So she did.

She was going to see the world on her terms. She would allow herself to experience and live. She wouldn't let loneliness be her life adviser.

It began with a cooking show on TV. She watched an hour of it. By the morning, she booked a trip to France to learn to make pastries. It was a disaster. Apparently, she was good at organizing people to cook but horrible at it. Her dough wouldn't rise and when it did, the consistency wasn't fluffy and flaky, but as thick as Sicilian pizza and tasted like cardboard with fruit.

One day she flung the pastries out of her window and not even the birds would go near them. She laughed for hours. That afternoon, she bid au revoir to France and flew to Turkey. A student in her pastry class, who looked at her attempts with pity but was sweet, told her about her native land and Caroline was fascinated by the idea of the belly dance.

She loved it. It was sensual and innate to her body. It seems she was to dance the opposite of what she was to cooking.

She practiced until she was as good as the natives. In the afternoons, she would dress and line her eyes with kohl. Before the sun went down, she would open the curtains and let the music take her. She would bare her belly and play with the veils, swaying to the music beautifully, enchanting her audience of one. On her last dance in Turkey, at the end she looked towards the window she knew Klaus watched from, and blew him a kiss and smiled.

Next she traveled to Thailand a city she chose exclusively as her feeding ground. There she exerted her power and freed her beast. She drank and indulged in the liquid bread of life. At first she went about it in her methodical and controlled way. Then one day, she let out her inner ripper and fed at will. Almost. She still didn't kill anyone but she went on drinking binges. She finally understood why Stefan turned ripper. The freedom of just letting herself be who she was. She also knew herself better than ever and accepted the control she had over herself.

Moscow, Jerusalem, Cairo, Amsterdam, all saw Caroline come and go. All fed a soul hungry for the world, raised the level of her hunger and stoked the fire that threatened to burn her all while she cursed him. He had instilled that hunger in her and now she was fulfilling it alone.

_That's your choice, Caroline_. A little voice would yell at her.

At night, her body screamed for him. She could almost cry in frustration because it wasn't just sexual hunger but a desire to bury herself in his arms. He could shut out the loneliness and the fear of it filling her eternity as he had done the days after her mother's death.

She longed for his impatience and lack of tolerance to finally snap. Why wasn't he coming to her? Why was he waiting in the shadows?

He would come to certain cities and watch her without showing his face. It was creepy and stalker like when it happened. She would scoff and roll her eyes.

God, how happy did that make her!

She didn't know how they started playing this game. Sometimes when too long had passed and she didn't feel him around, a small nagging voice whispered that he had tired of waiting. As if by intuition, signs that he was close would appear.

The white rose on the bed of her hotel in Brazil.

She had spent the afternoon dancing on the streets of Rio during Carnival. She laughed and learned to Samba in the sea of glistening bodies, some of which she fed off because the heat made her hungrier than she had ever been. She returned to her hotel to find the flower on the bed. She smiled and lay it on the pillow next to her every night until the fragrance wore off.

* * *

**Córdoba-Andalusia, Spain**

"I won't spoil our reunion by lying and telling you it's nice to see you."

Caroline leaned back in her chair. "Another hundred years and you're still not pleasant. I need to start adjusting my expectations."

Rebekah's lips twitched. "Maybe it's not so bad seeing you, after all."

Though it wasn't whom she was expecting, Caroline flipped her palm up, offering Rebekah the chair across from her. The Original sat down.

Rebekah raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's not so bad seeing you either." Caroline returned the tiny smile. "Otra copa, por favor" She called out to the waiter to bring another wineglass.

"Are we really going to exchange pleasantries like adult vampires? Last time we actually spoke you refused to let me join you and Matt's study group." At the end of the sentence she had to press her lips together.

Caroline's laughed first, and then Rebekah joined in.

"Life was so simple when all I had to worry about was Silas and saving Mystic Falls from the big bad." She shook her head sadly.

The Original nodded. "When was the last time you spoke to Stefan?"

Caroline stiffened. It was one thing to laugh at past insignificant moments and another totally different to broach the topic of her former boyfriend and best friend with a woman who had always been more of a foe than anything else.

Rebekah's eyes pierced through hers, surprising Caroline because there was no anger or animosity in them towards her.

The other woman changed the topic before she could think of anything to say.

"So, how is it that you're here without my brother? Now that you are not with Stefan, I would have thought he would be practically nipping at your heels."

It was the same question Caroline got from Elena and heard Damon utter in the background every time she talked to her friend. Did the whole world believe it was only a matter of time before she ended up with Klaus?

"I've been traveling alone." She simply said, noncommittally.

"He is still playing the waiting game. I must say, I'm beyond shocked. It seems you've taught Nik impulse control. The hard way." Rebekah regarded Caroline in true awe.

She examined her wine glass. The past two years she had gone on a journey of self-discovery. She was doing the things she always dreamed of. Two things bothered her. The first was the lack of someone she could truly trust. Someone in whom she could confide even about the silliest things. She and Elena had never been able to recapture the devotion of the earlier years of their friendship. The other thing that bothered her, was the flood of emotion she constantly felt now that she allowed herself to reflect on him.

"Why did you leave?" Rebekah's voice brought her back to the present. She blinked a couple of times. The other woman continued. "That day, why did you leave?"

"What day?" She asked. Though deep down, she knew.

"I saw you. You came to see him." Rebekah said softly. "In New Orleans."

Caroline shocked herself by answering the other woman.

"He was having a child. He had a girlfriend. It didn't seem like there was a place for me there." She shrugged.

Rebekah played with the wine in her glass as she regarded the woman across her. The Original's eyes narrowed.

"What?" Caroline snapped after a while.

"I. Don't. Believe. You."

"Excuse me?" Caroline countered incensed. "You know what…I don't care."  
Rebekah interrupted her, "You're lying."

Caroline wanted to scoff and get up and leave but something held her in place. Maybe she was tired of running from the truth. She started to speak before she realized it.

"When I got there and I saw Hayley, her baby and Camille. Something happened in me. All my reasons for being there seemed to have died. He had it all. A family, someone to love. What would I do there? How long till he realized he didn't need me? How long till I played second fiddle? I couldn't do that anymore. Not with him. He's always chosen me. I wouldn't have been able to handle it."

Her hand suddenly went to her mouth at the realization.

"How could you have thought my brother would do that? Though Nik is capable of many things, his feelings for you are true. I've seen it. Everyone has." Rebekah told her.

"You forget I lived years of my life in the shadow of Elena Gilbert. I guess old habits die hard and I thought how long did I have. I didn't see how I fit."

"So you sought refuge in your best friend's arms?"

Caroline didn't take offense to the question, despite the edgy tone.

"I love Stefan. It's not clear how we moved from friends to couple, but I love him. It's just different. We are a good team. We laugh and share everything. We were so comfortable with each other. He knew when to give me my space and my quirks," She said wistfully.

Rebekah chuckled. "Sounds like Nik and I in the 20s."

Caroline shook her head.

Rebekah nodded. "You were basically sleeping with your brother."

"Ew. Why would you say something so vicious?"

* * *

**Mystic Falls, Virginia**

_Four months later_

"You look pathetic"

Stefan looked up from his latest binge kill into the blue eyes he could have sworn he had forgotten.

"It must be a family thing. You people can't take a hint when someone wants to be alone." He spat petulantly.

Rebekah smiled. "We're just caring. We hate to see a friend down even when he brought it on himself."

His mouth dropped open, but he recovered quickly. "Well…this is nice. What do you say, we make it another 100 years. Maybe my heart will have grown fonder for your presence."

She laughed. "Where will you run to this time Stefan? Who will you give your heart to this time? I think you've run out of forbidden women."

"Don't." He warned her.

"Don't what? Tell you the truth?"

"You don't know what you're talking about. Caroline and I…"

"Were a mistake. A colossal one. You knew it. You knew her feelings for Nik. But you thought the two of you could keep each other pure. Eating bunnies and doing charity. Hiding who you really are. She loves my brother in spite of his darkness, because parts of her harbor the same darkness within her. She wasn't going to deny herself forever, Stefan. Not even for you."

"Don't you think I know that?" He yelled. "She's my best friend."

Rebekah nodded. Taken aback by his outburst.

The look of acceptance in her face tugged at him. Why did she always bring out this callousness in him? "I'm sorry."

"I promised Caroline I would check on you and I did." Her eyes were sad but her voice was steel as she added, "Feel free to continue being pitiful"

"Wait. You've seen her?"

"Yes, we've been traveling for a couple of months."

"Together?" He said incredulously, "Why?"

She shrugged. "It just sort of happened."

"How is she?" It pained him to ask. Rebekah knew him well enough to tell.

"She hasn't gone to him yet. She was not ready when I last saw her."

He was angry again. "That's not what I asked."

She scoffed. "No, but it's what you want to know, need to as well. It's going to happen Stefan. Soon. Nik has been patient for too long."

"I know. He won't let it go much longer." He acknowledged.

"Actually, truthfully speaking, I think she'll break first." It was brutal; she knew it but he had to hear it.

His shoulders sagged then and he sat on the floor next to his victim. He looked like a lost child.

She should have left then, but she couldn't. Though she had moved on and had her own life in order and the way she liked it, she stayed. She would always remember who he was when she first met him and despite their clashes, his betrayals, and distance, Rebekah cared about him.

* * *

She was a natural her dance partner kept repeating. She showed a modesty she didn't feel and blushed. It pleased her. It was 95% attitude after all and she possessed it. Also, she was blessed with long graceful legs. So she allowed her partner to twist and turn her; play her body like an instrument. When he dipped her, she felt her breath fly away only to come back in a charge of electricity that sent her senses into overdrive.

She knew what it meant. Her body knew it too.

Her partner released her into a turn and when she came back, she collided against a complete different body. Her face was mere inches from his. Their eyes locked, his breath on her lips. Her right leg held in place as her left swayed in front of it balancing. She lifted the right in an elegant yet devastating move that brought every man's eye to her. It reached the height of his armpit and his eyes could not help but travel to it.

"You're the most legendary stalker in history." She said breathlessly.

"Hello Caroline"

Déjà vu washed over her and her whole body hummed at the sound of her name on his lips.

"May I say the Tango becomes you? I thought you waltzed well, but I think this is truly the dance you were born for?"

"Thank you. You're not so shabby yourself."

With his arms around her, he brought her closer; holding her tightly, he leaned in and his mouth was right at her ear.

_"El día que me quieras, la rosa que engalana  
se vestirá de fiesta con su mejor color  
y al viento las campanas dirán que ya eres mía  
y locas las fontanas se contarán su amor"_

Of course, he spoke fluently. His Spanish was flawless. The timber of his voice sending waves of desire through her and she wanted to scoff as she had once done during his family's ball. She wanted to roll her eyes and pretend she didn't care, wasn't affected. However, much like then, she was more than impressed; she found it worldly, charming, and incredibly sexy. She was older. She had lived. She had allowed herself to be wined, dined, and courted by many men. She could flirt with the best of them. Yet, this is the man that always rattled her. One look of those blue-green eyes could melt the clothes off her body and make her feel naked. Klaus could stop her breath and make her heart beat as it did more than a century ago when it bled during a life lived in innocence.

"Your Spanish is beautiful and melodious." She smiled.

He was serious as he replied, "Thank you but beauty is not truly anything that comes out of my mouth but what my eyes behold."

She blinked a couple of times.

"Seriously? How the hell do you come up with that shit?"

He threw his head back and laughed. It warmed her heart.

"This is an old song from the early 20th century. It's originally Gardel's."

"Did you write it with him?" She deadpanned.

He chuckled. "No, but I was there the first time he performed it. Do you know what it means?"

She shook her head. "My Spanish is not that evolved."

_The day that you love me, the rose on display_

_will dress for a party in its best color _

_and the bells will chime to the wind and tell it that you're mine _

_and fountains will whisper of our love._

Her breath caught in her throat. "It's beautiful."

He nodded. "Yes. I never understood it before. Not it's meaning."

"What does this part mean?" Her hand trailed his shoulder.

_The night that you love me from the bright blue sky _

_the jealous stars will be watching as we stroll by_

_and a mysterious lightning will nest in your hair _

_A curious firefly, what will it see?_

_That you, Caroline, are the only comfort I need._

She slowly moved her head back from his shoulder to look at him. Her mouth was slightly opened and her heart was pounding. It wasn't only the words. It was what she heard in his voice. He spoke clearly, with conviction.

He meant it. She knew he did.

"You've never wavered." Her voice broke a little.

"And I'll never will."

Caroline needed air. She pulled away and walked outside. The evening air felt cool but it didn't help. She knew he was behind her.

"She could've made you happy." She whispered and referenced Camille.

"Camille could have, if I let her." He countered nonchalantly.

"Why wouldn't you? It's been more than 1000 years. Don't you want happiness? Don't you want to not be at war and full of angst anymore?" She asked confused.

"If happiness is not you, I don't want it."

She felt suffocated. It was almost as if she was about to pass out. Isn't that ridiculous? That shouldn't happen to Vampires, especially, not adult vampires who have seen the world. She wasn't 17 anymore, but he made her feel like she was still that girl, at the ball, steeling herself against this seasoned Casanova. She willed herself to resist him as she had for so long.

She found she couldn't.

He wasn't moving.

He wasn't talking anymore.

Yet, he was making all the right moves. Because his words hung in the air between them. The echo of them seduced her as effectively as his mouth could have.

"I can't do it anymore." She whispered.

"Then stop" He said firmly. He grasped her shoulders. "It's never going to be anyone else. I'm not going to change my mind Caroline. But I'm not going to be safe like Stefan. We're not going to laugh over the same things all the time. You'll want to stake me a few times a week and there will be times when I contemplate finding a way to dagger you so I can get away with murder…literally."

It ripped a laugh out of her but it went as he came closer and her eyes were serious again.

"You don't have to stop tonight. Would you have breakfast with me tomorrow?

She was taken aback at this change. 100 years and the man wanted to have breakfast?

He saw her surprise and chuckled.

"Isn't that what people do? Have coffee to see if they're compatible and then move on from there?" He joked.

She nodded. As she made her way back to her bedroom she lifted her eyes to the sky over Buenos Aires. A shooting star appeared and made her smile.

"Stop pushing me." She hoped her mother could hear that.

* * *

The minute he walked in the room, he loosened his tie, took off the jacket and lay on the bed. His eyes closed immediately.

_Klaus_

The whisper woke him.

It was faint, barely audible even to the keen hearing of a vampire. Even more so, it was as if he only heard the movement of lips. There was no voice and almost no breath in the word.

Yet he heard it.

His body heard it.

He followed the echo of it in the wind and stalked after it.

It was no time before he stood in front of her bed. She was on her back, one hand bent above her head. Caroline's long lashes demurely resting over her cheek bones.

The sheet silhouetted over her body, showcasing all the hills and valleys that composed it. Her long legs stretched out the closest to him. He allowed his eyes to caress the view before him. Yet, he forced his hands to remain still.

He didn't make any moves. He waited. He just smiled and waited.

15, 20, 30 minutes past.

She let out a long, seemingly frustrated breath.

"What the hell are you doing?" she yelled without opening her eyes.

He didn't answer her.

Her eyes finally opened. They emitted the frustration she felt. He still stood there impassive.

"Are you stupid?" She yelled.

"No." He whispered softly. "I understand what you're doing, Caroline."

"And?"

"No,"

"No?" She parroted.

"No." He said one more time, frustrated and a little angry.

She smiled, finally understanding. "Ok, go back to your room then. I'll see you in the morning for breakfast."

With that she turned to the side and went to sleep.

With his pride weighing more than his body, he began slowly walking back to his room. He had to be the stupidest man alive. He berated himself on the way there. He knew now more than ever he wouldn't be able to sleep. The frustration combined with the excitement of what tomorrow could bring would not allow him to.

When he returned to his room, she sat with her legs crossed in the middle of his bed. His heart began to pound so fast it was uncomfortable.

"I couldn't sleep without you."

Shock and an emotion he couldn't identify, coursed through him but were immediately smothered. He looked down then up. He couldn't bring himself to say anything.

She knelt on the bed and began walking closer on her knees.

"Ok, I lied. I can sleep without you." She took his hand in hers and brought it to her heart. "I just don't want to…ever."

He exhaled violently. He searched her eyes for doubt or half-truths and found none. Her heart beat at the same erratic rhythm as his.

With his hand still pressed against her chest by hers, he lowered his head to kiss her forehead, then her cheeks. It was a slow process with him, pausing to savor each kiss he placed on her face. When he finally touched his lips to her, it unleashed all his pent up desire, frustration, love, anger, loneliness, hunger for her.

He freed his hands from her and used it, along with the other one, to glue her to him.

"Caroline…" he tried to ask between fast kisses.

"I'm never letting you go, Klaus."

* * *

He lay sprawled over her. It was invasive and uncomfortable. She was trapped under him and yet…it felt like heaven. She thought he slept like the dead and she giggled at the morbid accuracy of it.

"I should be offended that you are still awake after the past few hours," He grumbled.

"I think I've gotten enough sleep for way too long."

He raised his head to look at her. He shifted so that his face hovered over hers. Her hands automatically went to his face. She ran her thumbs gently, like feathery caresses, over his cheeks.

"We're here," She whispered.

"I know." He looked away, almost embarrassed. Then the mask came back.

"What is it?" She was alarmed.

He shook his head.

She held his face. "Tell me."

He swallowed. "You fought me for a long time." He held his breath. "Will you ever fight for me as hard as you fought to be away from me?"

"I will. I no longer want to deny you, myself, the world or the truth. I love you. I want to be with you and intend to be always.

The shadows of the room darkened his face slightly but in that moment the light of morning penetrated. His eyes widened, then relaxed. She brought his head down and kissed him, slow, sweetly, taking her time to taste him. Klaus opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, his fingers trailing down her shoulders silkily.

He was forging a path of fire and she moaned into the kiss.

Klaus shifted up slightly and instinctively her legs spread to accommodate him. His hands continued to slide down her ribs, down her waist, settling on her hip. He stopped to caress then cup her butt while his hand slid down the back of her thigh pulling, elongating the glory of her leg until she rested her foot on the back of his thigh. This allowed him to explore the limb at his will. His other hand was firmly placed by the side of her head and he used it to balance himself as he thrust.

Caroline head lolled from side to side as the frenzy built and rose within her.

Her eyes filled in haze and thirst and her face changed as she pressed her heels into his thighs to lift herself to meet his thrusts.

Caroline's hands reached for him and pulled him to her and his hand sneaked under her to lift her so that they were eye to eye, chest to chest, monster to monster. The kiss was insane as fangs ripped into flesh and blood spilled into their skin. She sucked on his bottom lip and the hissing noises coming from him were enough to send her over, but at the last minute he tilted his head and offered himself to her.

Her gaze dipped into his neck area and back to his eyes.

"Finish me."

She wove herself tightly around him, sinking her fangs, as his hips quickly carried them beyond thought and reason.

* * *

Klaus reached for her without opening his eyes. He found emptiness and sighed. Then his eyes opened and he smiled in remembrance. She wasn't gone.

He sat on the bed and looked to the opened glass doors. Caroline stood in the balcony of the hotel room looking over the beach. She wore panties and the tank top he had worn under his clothes the evening before. He was surprised it didn't get ripped in their desperate lovemaking from the night before.

He watched her for a bit as she took in the sun of the French Riviera. Her eyes were closed and her arms opened as if receiving the wind. She was hugging the world. He got up and walked to the balcony, slowly opening the doors. She turned at the sound and the smile on her lips triggered his own before he could even think of reacting. He stepped out and she moved forward, her arms going around his neck. He touched his lips to her.

"I shouldn't be waking up without you anymore," He teased.

"Just a couple of steps away." She kissed him again.

"Too far."

She held him tighter and then turned in his arms. He held her from behind and placed kisses on her neck and shoulders.

Her eyes had gone back to watching the water.

"What is it?"

"I'm so happy."

"That's not such a bad thing. But if you want, we can wake Silas again or set off a search for a cure like the good old times," He murmured against the crook of her neck.

Caroline laughed softly. "I wish I could share it…"

He nodded understanding. "With Stefan."

She turned back to look at him with a slight frown. "It doesn't bother you?"

Klaus touched his head to hers. "He's your best friend."

"Since when did you become so well-adjusted?" She asked surprised.

He shrugged. "I learned a few things in 100 years." Then looked at the sea. "He'll turn it around. If I know my sister, she'll make sure he does."

Caroline nodded. "I know. They'll be happy together. She's changed a lot too lately."

He began to trail kisses down her neck into her chest. "She feels about him the way I feel about you."

"Poor Stefan, he won't know any peace until he gives in," she jokingly lamented.

"Difference is my sister doesn't have my amazing patience and Stefan is not as stubborn as you."

It earned him a swat on the shoulder.

"Was it worthy?" she bit her lip as she waited for his answer.

He responded by grabbing her hand and tugging.

"I could tell you but I prefer to show you."

* * *

The end


End file.
